VIENNA, Austria - Broadcast to more than 500 million viewers in 66 countries, The Indian Premier League launched its 2012 Twenty20 cricket tournament with an opening ceremony full of international acts at the YMCA College of Physical Education Grounds in Nandanam, Chenni, India. Backing two of the multiple groups performing at the event, which was headlined by Katy Perry, Ravi 'Drums' Jakhotia played with First Project and Colonial Cousins, from Africa and India respectively, relying on the HARMAN AKG IVM4500 In Ear Monitoring system to ensure his high-quality sound.

Hired by Wizcraft International Entertainment after successful Indian-based gigs in the past, Jakhotia was eager to return to the country for such a large and important event in the sporting world. During his first performance, Jakhotia accompanied the famed drum band First Project, the opening act for the ceremonies. Later on that night, Ravi Drums played with MTV and Billboard-Award-winning Colonial Cousins from India. During this performance, Jakhotia was given a 3-minute drum solo.

"The IVM4500 worked out very well during my performances, especially at such a large and loud ceremony. Its distance was perfect and sounded amazing during the show," Jakhotia stated. "The lows were great, the mids were clear and the highs didn't blast out my ears. AKG's IVM4500's are the luxury cars for monitors, with their great balance, EQ and effects all built in."

Ravi Drums admits to having been a little overwhelmed by the IVM4500's at first, with their intricate settings and improved features. "Usually in-ears are just plug, play and go, but for AKG's quality to truly shine, I had to make the proper adjustments. After a few minutes with setup, the 4500's sound was flawless and the reliability shined through."

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets - supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG(r), Harman Kardon(r), Infinity(r), JBL(r), Lexicon(r) and Mark Levinson(r). The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,000 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.3 billion for the twelve months ended March 31, 2012.